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In a joint exercise, the Noida traffic police and the Delhi traffic police will facilitate maintenance work on the Okhla Barrage Road, which connects Kalindi Kunj in Delhi to Noida.

According to the plan, the carriageways of the road will be shut for one month each. While the two-lane carriageway from Delhi to Noida will be shut from December 14 to January 14, the opposite carriageway — from Noida to Delhi — will be shut from January 14 to February 14.

Senior police officers in Noida said the road sees traffic of over 1 lakh vehicles per day.

Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation department, responsible for the upkeep of the road, said they were waiting for police to notify the final plan, to figure out modalities of the restoration of the bridge.

“With the volume of traffic on the road and the number of years that have passed since maintenance was last carried out, repairs are definitely in order. The bridge was constructed 25 years ago, and, since then, no work has been done on the stretch. We are waiting for police from both districts to give us the details and then we will figure out what exactly needs to be done. It will all depend on the time we are given for carrying out the maintenance work. The expenditure that will be incurred will also be decided at that time,” a senior Irrigation department official said.

During joint meetings of the Noida and the Delhi Traffic police, the representatives from Noida mooted the point that traffic should be allowed both ways on the carriageway that was open.

Senior officers of the Delhi traffic police, however, rejected the idea, citing the traffic volume on the stretch.

“Each carriageway has two lanes. Considering the number of vehicles that use the road each day, two-way traffic will be unmanageable. Therefore, for the one month, the Noida to Delhi carriageway will be shut, and only one-way traffic from Delhi to Noida will be allowed.

The scenario will be reversed for the next month,” a senior police officer said.

Noida police said they would soon come out with a traffic plan for the two months. “There are a lots of things left to be worked out. That is why work is not beginning immediately. According to a rough traffic plan, commuters driving to and from Noida will be advised to use Ashram